The Rough Draft

So here I am, firmly back in the saddle and bashing out the prose amongst the turmoil of regular life. Well regular for me. My current polish is done and off to the agent and I’m back on the other two spec projects I set aside. Which is good as you see the stuff you couldn’t see before on the page. Writing can be a lengthy process, I’d like to say the fun is in the journey but truth be told I hate the journey, I like arriving at the destination. Because once I’m there, I know what to do (usually) to make the story better. Also at this stage there are any number of friendly individuals around who are more than willing to toss in their two bits. I think my favorite was the post sound guy who offered up notes (huh?) during the actual shoot. Here’s a hint Sparky, when the camera is rolling, it’s too late to change stuff (unless you’re George Lucas).

So for the first time in quite a bit of time I’m fairly at peace with the way things are. I have a plan of sorts and I’m following through on it. I hope it bears fruit but then, don’t we all? The good news is that the industry seems to be on an upswing, so hopefully there’s a buying spree in everybody’s future.

On to the guts of this article.

As you know, I check out a number of boards just to keep up on what’s going on around town and the like. Some, like David Eng’s, “Toronto Screenwriter’s,” newsgroup are helpful and informative in that there’s actually news in his posts. A big part of this is most likely because of David’s shrewd moderation and hey, he’s a nice guy, who is actively engaged in making and promoting film himself. Then there’s other (who will remain nameless) boards who seem to function as vanity projects for people and those who would rally around them (I don’t know why). Now I don’t find this offensive per se, I mean whatever floats your boat right? But there are times when the threads are so ridiculous that they don’t need replying to because you just hope they will die a quick death. One that is currently floating around out there goes like this (and any of you who have been reading along for the last few months / years will know this is a pet peeve):

“I want to shoot a movie. I don’t know anything about the process or even the proper terminology and I’ve got no script to speak of. Can anybody help me?”

I feel that the short term answer should be, “Go away.” Only it should start and end with an F. But people want to be helpful so they give this shite all sorts of advice. It’s sort of like saying, I want to drive a car but have never seen or even ridden in one, can you tell me how over the phone and then give me the keys? Madness. We wouldn’t give this person access to a motor vehicle, why would they even think they could have access to the resources to make even a short film? What this sort of thing really says to me is, “I’m too lazy to actually do the work to realize my dream.” And that is truly sad. It’s also indicative of our society. We want it fast and we want it now. The reality is, you’ll achieve it when all is in place and the timing is proper. In the meantime, practice your driving.

I’m Steve Abbott and I’m waiting to sell out.